You are Important
by SupernaturalShipper12
Summary: Getting fan mail is fine, for most people. Getting gifts is somewhat okay, for those used to it. Getting both and finding out your 'fan' is actually a creepy stalker...now that's not even close to okay. It's so far from okay that it warrants having a bodyguard. Armin and Eren are not happy about it in the least.
1. Chapter 1

"You know, it's just not fair. Why does he always get more fan mail then I do? I mean I'm the one in an actual T.V. show, you'd think that would count for something." Eren grumbled as he struggled to hold the pile of letters in his arms while trying to unlock the front door of the bakery.

Mikasa rolled her eyes and pulled her scarf tightly around her neck before reaching down and giving the German Shepherd at her side a scratch behind the ears. "Does it really matter, Eren? We're here earlier than he is for a different reason so stop focusing on the letters and open the door already."

"I know, I know… I'm just jealous, he gets all these letters and he doesn't even want them. I mean it's kind of a waste for his fans to write him if all he does is toss them out without even reading them." Mikasa followed her brother into the bakery making sure to lock the door behind her.

The trio made their way through the double doors behind the glass display cases and into the kitchen. Mikasa shrugged off her coat as Eren led his dog into Armin's office and shut the door. They both then traded their coats and scarves for the green aprons hanging by the door before turning on the stoves.

It was silent for the next several minutes as the two got to work getting the pastries ready. "It shouldn't surprise you, Armin does have quite a lot of fans, he's almost as popular as you are. It's only reasonable that he has letters from them."

Eren shrugged as he iced another cupcake, "I know that, heck the kid is almost as popular as Stephen King. His books are amazing, I just don't like how he doesn't take the time to read the letters…"

"Can you blame him? Eren, he's constantly trying to meet his deadlines and when he's not busy rereading his manuscript or writing then he's busy with the bakery. Armin has no time to read them and he doesn't like the attention, you know how he thinks of himself." Mikasa argued as she placed the last pie in the oven and set the timer.

Eren shrugged as he iced another cupcake, "I know that, heck the kid is almost as popular as Stephen King. His books are amazing, I just don't like how he doesn't take the time to read the letters…"

"Can you blame him? Eren, he's constantly trying to meet his deadlines and when he's not busy rereading his manuscript or writing then he's busy with the bakery. Armin has no time to read them and he doesn't like the attention, you know how he thinks of himself." Mikasa argued as she placed the last pie in the oven and set the timer.

"I get that, I do and I understand how busy he is but I mean, he could at least save it for those rare times when he's not busy." Eren voiced as he placed the last of the cupcakes in the delivery box and moved on to the next task.

"When would that be, Eren? As if his plate isn't full already, you also drag him off to shoot some scenes in your show and I have to drag him off to set up more meetings and book signings. Now, if we're done discussing this, we need to pick up the pace." Eren thought on her words for a bit before sighing and nodding in defeat.

"You're right, this isn't nearly enough to convince Armin to come with me to tomorrow's shoot. Thanks again, by the way, for moving his schedule around for this."

"You're welcome, Eren." Mikasa replied with a soft smile as she helped roll out the dough for the cookies. "Seriously though, work faster he should be here in about an hour." Eren glanced at the clock and grimaced at the time before picking up his pace. They still had a long way to go if they were going to convince their blonde friend.

Armin usually loved mornings, they were his chance to relax. It was as if he were pushing the reset button in a video game. They were relaxing and calming and peaceful. His walk to the bakery was the perfect time for him to get a few minutes to relax without the constant worry of deadlines or specialty orders. He would usually be able to take his time petting the stray cat coming out of the alley or give scraps of his breakfast to the puppy whining behind a fence for attention.

That's usually what he would be able to do, however, today was not one of those days. He had been up so late into the early morning trying to get his chapter finished, so he could send it in to his editor, that he ended up falling asleep right at his desk. By the time he came around it was already past four in the morning. He grumbled to himself as he rounded the corner and his bakery came in sight, he shoved his hand into the bag bumping against his hip and dug around for his keys.

He was cranky, cold, and extremely tired. He huffed a happy sigh as his hand grasped the keys from his bag as he came to a stop in front of his bakery. He yawned widely as he stepped inside and locked the door behind himself, he paused as he heard noises coming from the kitchen.

Armin felt his heart rate rise as he readied his phone in case he needed the police. He gently pushed through the double doors and felt his breath catch in surprise as he looked around. Mikasa and Eren stood covered in flour and other things as they paused in their decorating and glanced at him.

"Geez Armin, you look like shit. You alright?" Armin felt his confusion slip back into irritation at Eren's question. He shrugged and shoved his things into the locker reserved for all his employees items. He made his way to the news board and pulled down the paper clip full of items that needed to be delivered that day. Once he finished reading through it he reached over to grab his apron and left his two friends, still waiting for an answer, while he walked into the walk-in fridge.

When he came back out with a few cakes that needed to be decorated and ready for Bertholdt to deliver he noticed Mikasa had started taking all of the finished pastries to the front of the bakery, to be put in the display cases. Eren was leaning on the counter and still staring at him, Armin sighed as he put down the cakes next to him and looked up at his friend.

"No Eren, I'm not okay. I'm tired and I'm late now if you don't mind, I need to get these cakes decorated so that when Bertholdt-" Armin was cut off by a loud bark and he slowly turned to look up at his best friends face.

Eren gave a sheepish smile as he ran his fingers through his hair and opened his mouth to explain but was quickly silenced by a raised hand and glare from the blonde. Armin stepped quickly to his closed office door and turned to glare at Eren.

"Bertl!" Eren cringed slightly as the loud bark rang from behind the door.

"Eren… Why is Bertl here? In a place where we cook and serve food to customers, why is your dog in MY office!" Armin shouted.

"Well, you see… I wanted to take him for a walk and then I noticed the time and I realized I needed to get here earlier than you and well… I figured you wouldn't mind as much so long as he was out of the kitchen…" Eren fidgeted slightly as he was stared down by Armin's angry blue eyes.

"Why did you need to be here earlier than me? No one is ever here earlier than me. But that's besides the point, did it ever occur to you the amount of fur that could have fallen on this kitchen floor in the time it took you to get him in my office? You know what? Never mind don't even answer that, we have a lot to get done and standing here scolding you isn't going to get these cakes ready." Eren sighed in relief as he watched his friend quickly pick up his hair into a small ponytail and head over to the sink to wash his hands.

Any other day Eren could handle his short best friend but on the days where he came in to work cranky, Armin had a temper that could scare even the manliest of men. Eren looked over to the double doors as Mikasa walked in holding two mugs filled with coffee.

"If you two are done bickering, Armin, drink the coffee and wake up properly. You need to get some rest, why don't you go relax in your office. You should really start looking after yourself more often." Armin took a long drink from his coffee before setting it down and picking up the schedule again.

He then went over and chose the first cake that needed to be done while still reading over the clipboard before answering Mikasa. "You don't think I know that? You telling me to get rest isn't going to magically give me time to actually get the sleep needed now is it. If you don't mind, I really need you to go get the bakery open, by the looks of it you two made enough pastries to get us through the next two hours. It's 5:30 a.m now and early birds usually come at 6 so start setting up the lobby. And take care of the front counter until Moblit and Bertholdt come in."

Mikasa opened her mouth to reprimand their childhood friend. "Mika, no offense but I really don't think now would be the time to argue with him. Just go on." Eren gave a small smile as he nudged his adopted sister out the double doors and back into the lobby.

"Eren, I need you to make me more buttercream frosting so we can finish these decorations." Armin ordered as he grabbed the ingredients and placed them on the counter. The two spent the next couple of hours decorating the cakes and listening to the bustle of customers coming and going. Every now and then Armin would send Eren out to the front to check on whatever pastries they were running low on. They would then take turns working in companionable silence to get caught up again.

As the hours slipped by, Armin's mood brightened slightly and he was far more approachable then he had been that morning. Eren would often catch Armin looking at the clock in the corner.

"They'll be here soon, they have ten minutes left." Eren reassured his friend from his position in front of the sink. Armin sighed and nodded before leaning next to him with a notebook in hand.

"Any ideas for Sasha's cake?" Armin loved when his clients would leave him to deal with how the cake was to be decorated, it was the perfect way for his employees to build on their teamwork. Usually he would have everyone meet around the counter in the middle with coffee and a fresh batch of cookies while they tossed out ideas and voted on the best one. He really did love when he had full reign and he would have loved it this time as well, except for the fact that he was constantly busy. Having Sasha say, "Make a cake that looks like meat." would have been an easy task, unfortunately his mind was already overwhelmed with everything else that he had been working on. His creativity level at the moment was nonexistent.

Armin looked up at the clock before leveling a disapproving glance at the two men who stumbled through the double doors. "You're both five minutes late. Clock in and get to work. Moblit, give Mikasa a break, and Bertholdt the list of cakes that need to be ordered today are hanging behind you."

Bertholdt smiled sheepishly and mumbled an apology as he headed in the direction Armin had sent him. Moblit shrugged it off and shoved their things into the locker.

"Bertholdt, I need…" Armin was cut off by a loud bark unmistakably coming from behind his closed door.

Bertholdt frowned and turned to Eren, "Honestly, I thought you were kidding about naming your dog after me Eren!"

"How'd you know it's my dog?!"

"Armin cares about his bakery too much to bring animals into it, and he's not as mean as you. He'd never name a dog after me, and he'd never say it was because the dog looked like me. It's not even funny if you did it as a joke." Bertholdt stated as he turned back to the list in his hand.

Eren huffed and dried his hands off unaware of Armin getting irritated beside him. "It's not my fault, I mean his main color is brown and it matches your skin tone. He has black spots that match your hair perfectly and his eyes are almost exactly like yours!"

"I do not look like a German Shepherd!"

"ENOUGH! Look argue about this later, you guys were already late and now you're not even working. Bertholdt…" Armin glared at his childhood friend when the dog barked again. "Get those orders delivered, I need you back by noon. Moblit, Mikasa has been working non stop go give her a break. Eren for all that is holy do something about that damn dog!"

Half of Armin was proud that he could get his employees to move so damn fast, the other half felt guilty for scolding them and taking out his crankiness on them. The guiltier half won over and he decided he needed a few minutes to cool off. While he was in the walk-in fridge he decided it'd be best to get out the previously rolled cookie dough and prepare another batch.

He sent a grateful and tired smile to Mikasa when she met him with a fresh cup of coffee. "Figured, you'd need this. Maybe you should take a break with me."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. Oh hey, so Eren mentioned it earlier and it had slipped my mind until now. He said he had to be here before me, why was that?" Armin pulled out a few stools for them to sit on as he noticed Eren walking back over to them. He gave a soft smile as his friend plopped down next to him.

"Eren has a favor to ask you, he was hoping that by getting here early you'd be more willing to go along with it." Mikasa answered as Eren gave a nervous chuckle. The noise made Armin turn his complete focus on his best friend.

"So? What's the favor? You know I'd do anything you needed, Eren." When it became painstakingly obvious that Eren wasn't going to answer, Mikasa sighed and gained Armin's worried attention.

"He wants you to go to set with him today."

"Mikasa!" Eren ground out at the same time Armin answered.

"No." Eren turned his attention back to his friend and pouted. Armin gave a soft chuckle at the over dramatic expression.

"Come on, Ar. You hardly have time to hang out anymore… at least come with me and keep me company… you said you'd do anything!"

"Anything but that, besides I'm busy and I need to get home early tomorrow. Knowing how long your scenes take you guys won't be finished early. I have a meeting with another store to set up a book signing." Armin knew he didn't really have to be at the meeting and Mikasa could handle it alone, but he really abhorred going to set with Eren. Especially when everytime he was there, someone would try to get him to play in the scene as well.

"I've cleared your schedule for the next few days, you can go." Mikasa stated as she stood up and headed back out to the lobby.

Armin grimaced at the thought of having to set foot back into the studio. He turned to face his childhood friend and sighed in defeat. Armin could say no to a lot of things but when faced with Eren's pleading gaze, all he could do was give in. Armin groaned and Eren knew he had won.

"Levi...Leviiiii!" Said man felt his eye twitch as another paper ball was thrown onto his desk. He took a slow deep breath and closed his report.

"What. Do. You. Want Jean?" He gritted out through clenched teeth as his glare met soft entertained eyes.

"I'm bored, entertain me." Jean smiled widely as he saw his partner and best friend's frown deepen while his glare hardened.

"If you want entertainment, find it elsewhere. We're at work, which is what you should be doing. Work." Levi ground out before turning back to his report and re-reading it. He tensed when another folder was placed on top of his; slowly he let his eyes follow the offending hand, still holding the folder, all the way up to warm brown eyes.

"Done, and I know if I'm done then that means you're done. You've been sitting here pretending to still be working just so you could wait for me. I know you Levi, I've known you for about 95% of my lifespan… I've never finished work before you, so can we go now?" Levi felt his body relax as a small smirk graced his face. He quickly opened Jean's report and scanned it before nodding once. Jean shot off like a racehorse to their closet and grabbed their things.

Levi, on the other hand took a few extra minutes to tidy up an already immaculate desk. He loved making Jean lose his patience, the guy had always been like an overgrown mut. Easily excitable and extremely over energetic. It hadn't even been two minutes and the taller man was already vibrating in excitement, by the door, at the prospect of getting to be out of the dreary office they shared.

"Levi, come on! Let's get going already. I wanna go home." Levi chuckled softly to himself and nodded as he motioned out the hallway, reports clutched tightly in his hand. He walked quickly towards Erwin's office and felt Jean's presence quickly fall into step beside him.

"Hey… you know you don't always have to wait for me, right?" Levi faltered in his steps slightly at the soft serious voice by his ear. He glanced out of the corner of his eye to see a happy Jean and shrugged.

"I don't know what you mean. I just had a lot on my mind." Jean's smile grew wider as they came to a pause in front of Erwin's open office. Levi knocked on the doorframe and just as quickly pulled Jean in front of him. The next few seconds gave way to two pained groans and a tangled mess of limbs on the floor. Levi easily stepped over them and made his way to an amused Erwin.

He deposited the reports in the blondes outstretched hand. Hange quickly disentangled herself from Jean and made her way over to the blonde. Levi watched as she perched herself on the corner of the desk and read over Erwin's shoulder. Jean stumbled over and gracelessly flung all his weight on the shorter male. He let his arms rest on Levi's shoulders as his chin rested on top of his head. Erwin let out a single cough which Levi believed was to cover his snicker of amusement. Hange on the other hand had a wide grin across her face.

"Is there anything else we need to do, or can we go home?" Erwin raised an eyebrow at Jean's question and quickly glanced down at the reports in front of him before handing them to Hange.

"I'll have Hange look over those more thoroughly later. We don't have any new assignments for you at the moment, however, be sure to keep your phones on in case something comes up. Enjoy your free time off." Erwin watched as Levi quickly reached up and grabbed hold of Jean's pinky and ring finger and twisted until the taller man's weight was relieved from his shoulders.

"Thank you." Levi turned and left a sulking Jean to quickly follow after him. Jean shouted a quick goodbye to Reiner, who was sat behind the reception desk before catching up to Levi. The shorter man's speed never ceased to amaze Jean. Levi was already out of the building and well on his way to Jean's apartment by the time the taller man fell into step beside him.

"The next time you use me as rest, I will snap those fingers, Jean." Levi grumbled as he turned instead of going straight.

"Levi… I thought we were heading to my apartment." Jean questioned as he stopped at the corner.

"We are, but now I want tea. I overheard Erwin and Hange talking about this bakery… there's no harm in checking it out." Jean gave a soft smile and nodded as he quickly caught up to the awkward male.

"Sure thing, Lev... when have I ever turned down your hobby of checking out cafes and bakeries." They both came to a halt in front of the bakery. Jean looked up at the sign as Levi took in the sight of the homey looking bakery through the glass windows. There was something warm about the place. "Luminitsa… Is this it? Wonder what it means…"

"It means little light in Romanian." Levi answered as he headed inside with Jean quickly behind him.

"You speak Romanian? Of course you do… any other languages you decided to learn without me?" Jean huffed as they came to a stop in front of the counter.

"Welcome to Luminitsa, what can I get-" Mikasa's welcome was interrupted by a loud crash coming from behind the double doors.

"EREN!" Every customer and employee's attention was aimed in the direction of the kitchen where loud crashes were heard along with a few yelps.

Jean frowned slightly as he turned to Levi, "Eren? I swear I've heard that name before… and that voice, it sounds so famili-" Jean was cut off as the double doors slammed open and a tall brunette came running through.

"DAMMIT EREN! Stop bringing him here! I'm trying to run a bakery! Do you realize how unsanitary that is!" All eyes shifted from the tall male to the short seething blonde chasing after the tall brunette and his leashed dog. Jean felt his mouth drop as he spotted his favorite author and started elbowing a surprised Levi.

Levi stirred from his surprised state and sent a harsh glare in his friend's direction before swatting the next incoming elbow. "Dammit Jean. I see them already, knock that shit off!" Levi hissed. Everyone watched as the blonde and brunette disappeared out the front door. Everything was silent for a few seconds before the front door opened again and in walked the blonde, his arms full of letters.

Armin froze at the sight of the many eyes trained on him. He felt his cheeks heat as he cleared his throat and stuttered out an apology. Jean felt the urge to walk over and brush the blondes hair back from his face. He felt his own face heat at the thought of the males blonde locks running through his fingers, and quickly turned back to face his friend, who sent him a knowing smirk.

Armin took a deep breath once everyone had gotten back to their own conversations and headed over to Mikasa. As soon as he gets within hearing distance of his other childhood friend, the front door slammed open again.

"Hey Ar! Don't forget, Mikasa is driving you to the set at 7 tonight. Be ready, see you there!" Eren shouted gaining the attention of the customers again. Armin gave a terse nod and waved his friend away letting a small smile form at the stupidity of his best friend. He stood beside Mikasa and gently nudged her, once he gained her attention he handed the letters over to her.

"I know you're busy attending to these kind and patient customers, however when you get the chance… please find a way to get my bakery off of the internet. I know I'm always asking this of you, but please… I'm tired of getting fan mail here… get rid of it please." Armn gave Levi and Jean one last smile as he turned and disappeared back into the kitchen. Mikasa looked down at the pile of letters in her hands before shoving them under the counter and turning back to the customers.

Only, there were no customers standing in front of her. She glanced towards the door where she caught one last glimpse of the taller male dragging out an annoyed shorter male. She shrugged and went back to helping Bertholdt and Moblit.

Levi had had enough, he yanked his arm away from Jean and shoved the man roughly. "Stop dragging me around dammit. Next time just say you want to leave." He didn't wait for Jean to regain his footing as he stomped off in the direction of Jean's apartment.

"You better have some damn good tea at your place, Kirschtein." Levi's grumbling was ignored as Jean caught up to him and started talking a mile a minute about his favorite author. Levi had heard the spiel a thousand times about how good a writer this Armin was, he could recite the next disgusting words to leave Jean's mouth by memory. He still didn't know how he managed to put up with this someone like Jean for as long as he did, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

When it came down to it, Jean was a really great friend, not that Levi would ever tell him that. The male was loyal to a fault and despite his puppy like attitude, Levi knew he could always count on the babbling man beside him. Jean finally calmed down about his favorite author as they walked into his apartment building. By the time they entered his apartment, the poor man was apologizing about how embarrassing he must have been.

"Don't worry about it, I'm glad you pulled me out of there though." Levi stated as he rummaged through Jean's cupboards, in search of his tea.

Jean stopped filling the kettle with water and turned to stare at his friend, "You are?"

"Of course I am, if you hadn't pulled us out, I would've had to; for fear you'd propose to the blonde otherwise." Levi smirked as Jean flushed and slammed the kettle onto the stove in embarrassment.

"Shove it, Levi. As if you weren't internally fangirling over your little crush on Eren. He's the only reason you're so into that detective show you always clutter my DVR with. Don't think I didn't notice that starstruck look in your eyes once they landed on him." Jean smirked as Levi shoved by him none too gently and made his way to the living room.

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about, now, if you're done wasting my time… tea isn't going to make itself, and I've got a show to watch." Jean snickered at the sight of Levi flipping the t.v. to Eren's detective show.

"Not a damn word, Kirschtein." Levi grumbled as he got himself comfortable in the middle of the couch. Jean shrugged and quickly prepared Levi's tea when the kettle had heated the water to a hot enough temperature. Once finished, he grabbed a bag of chips from the cupboard and took his place on the couch next to Levi.

"All I know, is that… that bakery is definitely going to become a regular stop on the way home." Jean stated as he handed over the tea.

"Shut up, I'm trying to watch the show." Jean chuckled softly as he glanced at his friends profile. No matter how harsh and cold Levi seemed to others, Jean knew how caring and kind he actually was. He loved knowing a side of Levi that no one else had ever known, it made him feel special. However, he wouldn't mind if his best friend showed his vulnerable side to someone else one day...and maybe it was too much to hope that 'someone else' actually meant a certain green-eyed brunette, but hell a guy could hope.


	2. Chapter 2

If God could create the world in seven days, leave a man on an ark with animals while he flooded the Earth, and could perform a shit load of other miracles, then Levi was at a loss as to why he couldn't murder the person on the other end of his phone who decided 3:00 in the morning was an acceptable time to call. He groaned and rubbed his eyes with his right hand before trying to sit up. He frowned when he was stopped.

He quickly glanced down to see Jean curled into his side, arm tightening around his waist and resting his head on Levi's shoulder. How Jean managed to squeeze both of their bodies onto the tiny couch was beyond him. Levi sighed and quickly reached out as far as he could to the table beside him. He mentally applauded himself when he managed to grab the obnoxious phone without awakening the man resting on him.

"What?" Levi growled quietly to the person daring to disrupt his sleep.

"Well good morning to you too." Levi sighed and relaxed back into position and glanced down at Jean, he noted the way the sleeping man's face pinched into a frown.

"Petra, what do you want, it's three in the fucking morning. Excuse me if I don't have the patience to answer the phone politely." He watched his best friend as the tell tale signs of a nightmare appeared on Jean's face. Gently he reached his left hand up and carded his fingers through Jean's hair.

"Oh! Shoot you're right, sorry! We just got back to the station after putting out a fire and I wasn't paying attention to the time. Erwin called earlier saying you might be helping out again for a couple of days, so I just wanted to call and see if you were actually planning on coming in. We all miss seeing you around here." Levi sighed and closed his eyes as he continued to run his fingers gently through the soft head of hair.

"Yeah, maybe. I'm not entirely sure when I'll stop by. I'll let you know when I figure it out. Good night Petra." Levi pulled the phone away and ended the call at the same time he heard the girl on the other end trying to continue the conversation. He decided to turn his phone completely off to keep from being disturbed again.

After dropping his phone back onto the table he reached over and pulled Jean more onto his body, he hissed as the annoying pins and needles feeling started traveling through his left arm. Levi gently massaged his friends eyebrows to soothe the muscles there and remove the frown. He carded his fingers through the soft hair again until Jean's face completely relaxed. Once there was no sign of the nightmare returning to plague his best friend's dreams, Levi reached over and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch to cover them both. He glanced at his friend's sleeping face one last time before relaxing completely into the couch and drifting off again.

Jean groaned quietly as the sun streamed in through the partially open curtain hitting him directly in the face, he yawned and turned into the solid warm body next to him. He buried his face into Levi's side and let the last traces of sleep slowly dissipate. After yawning once more he looked down at his watch and decided there was no hurry in getting up. He laid there for the next few minutes, watching as the sun slowly made its way up Levi's chest and onto his peacefully relaxed face.

He loved sharing a bed with Levi, even if others thought it was weird, he didn't care it's not like they were doing anything else. Levi was his best friend, he was there for him through thick and thin. Sharing a bed with Levi would usually ease his mind, there was a less chance he'd have nightmares. And if for some reason he did end up in the jaws of a terrible nightmare they would never last long when Levi was over. It was as if there was a part of his brain that was able to pick up his best friends presence next to him. Almost as if his body and brain recognized that he was safe.

He gave a smile when he saw Levi start to frown at the sun in his face and gave a small chuckle when the arm wrapped around his shoulders tightened. Levi yawned as he reached up and scrubbed his face with his right arm.

"What's so funny, Jean?" Levi questioned as he shifted towards Jean in order to get the sunlight out of his eyes and not fall off the couch.

"Nothing, just thought that for someone who acts so cold, you're actually rather warm and adorable." Jean smirked when his best friend shot him a glare. He yelped and sat up quickly when he felt a sharp pain in his side.

Levi chuckled at his friends pain and kicked the blankets off before sitting up and stretching. Jean pouted as he rubbed the portion of skin that was pinched. Before Jean had a chance to complain, Levi stood up and headed to the guest room.

"Hurry up and get ready, I want to stop by work to see if anything has popped up." He called over his shoulder. Jean rolled his eyes and let himself flop back onto the couch.

Afternoon found them finally stumbling up the stairs to Erwin's office. Jean gave his boss an apologetic smile when Levi barged into the office unannounced. Erwin gave a small nod and set down his file before clasping his hands and resting them on the desk. He watched as the short male threw himself down into the armchair. Jean lowered himself into the remaining one in a more refined manner. Erwin turned his attention to the shorter male.

"If this is about a job, then the answer is no, nothing has come up yet. A client did come in after you two left but Annie, Rico and Nanaba took the assignment. Hange is overseeing them. If you're that hard pressed for some work, you're more than welcome to work in communications with Reiner and Eld." Erwin stated as he brought the folder back up into his hands and continued to read over the file. Jean smirked at the annoyance radiating off of Levi at not being given the case instead. The slight twitch would have gone unnoticed by any other person, but not Jean. He grew up noticing all of Levi's tells. So he was completely unsurprised at the clipped tone in which he replied in.

"Why didn't you call us back. You knew we were free, we have seniority! That job should have gone to us first." Jean settled back comfortably in his chair as his best friend complained. He was used to this routine, it was a common occurrence every month. Erwin would notice they'd work far more than they'd relax and in an effort to get them to take a break, he would hand off any other assignments to other teams.

"You two have been working non-stop since you came back from you're vacations... you're very short vacations if I might add. You both need a break." Erwin glanced at the short male sitting across from him before continuing, "If not working kills you that much, I suggest going back to the fire station and volunteering your time until I have another case for you. I'm sure Petra has already called you." At Levi's sigh of frustration Erwin gave a small smirk before setting his folder down again. "Don't worry Levi, you won't be stuck in the clutches of the fire station for long. Somewhere out there, someone is always going to need to be protected. Just help out for a bit and I promise I will call you guys back when something comes up. Now unlike you, I have a ton of files you all have handed in to look over, so if you don't mind."

Jean shrugged and stood up as Erwin motioned to the door, he smirked as he watched Levi reluctantly drag himself to his feet and follow him out of the office. Jean reached over and punched Levi's arm gently, once they were out of the building. "Stop sulking, Lev. It's not the end of the world, we go through this every month. We'll be back in about a week, until then, relax and go visit the others at the fire station like Erwin said or you can always go visit Gunther and Oluo at the police station. Anyways, I'll see you later tonight. I'm gonna stop by the library and see if Connie needs any help. Oh and say hi to Petra and Mike for me!"

Levi rubbed his arm and sighed before nodding, "Like I've got a choice, see you tonight at the bakery?" Levi watched as Jean's face brightened at the mention of the bakery, "You know... now that you mention it... I've got a craving for those muffins on the shelf."

He felt himself smirk as he shook his head and fixed his coat, "Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what you're craving."

"Levi... did you just?..."

"I'll see you later Jean." Levi cut off as he headed in the opposite direction of his surprised friend. He sighed and glanced down at his watch. The day was going by far too slow for his liking. He wanted to hang out with Jean at their new favorite bakery but first he was going to have to deal with Petra. It was times like these that he really wished God could create someone smart enough to build time machines. He sighed again and pulled his coat tighter as he trudged towards the fire station.

Armin shoved his laptop and a spare change of clothes into his bag as he rushed through his apartment. He had left Bertholdt and Moblit the task of closing down the bakery while he got a few things ready to head over to Eren's set. His phone beeped twice letting him know he had a message, after a quick glance he made note of Mikasa's arrival. He sent a quick message back while shoving his charger and grabbing the stack of letters off of his dining table. He shoved his wallet into his back pocket as he hesitated in grabbing his glasses.

He hated wearing glasses, but years of typing in the dark or reading a book using only the moonlight as his source of light, had strained his eyes. He usually tried to avoid using them at work, he wasn't that blind yet. He really only needed them when he knew he was going to spend his time in front of a computer or reading a book. Being at Eren's set might give him enough needed time in Eren's trailer to catch up on his book and hopefully finish the chapter before his deadline.

He locked the door behind him as he scurried past the elevator and down the flights of stairs. Once he spotted Mikasa's car he shoved his bag into the back seat and threw the pile of letters into Mikasa's hands as he plopped into the passenger seat and buckled up. Before giving Mikasa a chance to question the pile in her lap, Armin turned to her and frowned. "Now, I know for a fact, that I never mentioned my address. Seriously Mika, look into this please. It's one thing to get it at the bakery but for me to get fan letters at home is weird and honestly creeps me out. There's a reason I stay off of social media."

Mikasa nodded and flipped on her overhead lights as she shuffled through the letters She frowned and discreetly gave Armin a sideways glance. She wasn't sure if the short blonde had noticed that the majority of the letters had no return address, or that a lot of them had seemed to come from the same person. Armin sighed and relaxed back into his seat, Mikasa glanced his way once more and quickly stuffed the letters into the glove compartment. "I'll look into it, and I'll also have Marco look over a few things and see if they mentioned it anywhere. No one should know your address though, I made sure to always keep it private... however there is a chance that someone could have found it out and made it public..."

Armin frowned and bit his lip, "You know Mika... that really really doesn't make me feel better about this. It definitely doesn't comfort me in the slightest."

Mikasa turned off the lights and readjusted herself in her seat before glancing over her shoulder and pulling away from the curb. She stayed quiet and headed in the general direction of Eren's set. Only when she was a few roads away from Armin's apartment did she finally answer him. "Right... well why don't you stay with Eren and Bertl until we figure out how someone was able to find out where you live."

Armin frowned and pulled at a string on the end of his shirt, "Yeah... I guess, tomorrow I can have Eren take me home to grab some things... is a week enough time?"

Mikasa nodded and turned onto the next street, "I'm not entirely sure, but with Marco's help combing through things, I know it'll be faster. For right now, maybe a week but I'll let you know if it's going to have to be longer."

They sat in silence, the only noise coming from Mika's stereo. Armin bit his lip once more and twiddled his fingers before he blew out a huge breath and glanced at Mikasa. "I know it's probably weird... but do you think you can work on it in my office? I just..."

Mikasa listened to her friend trail off as she pulled up next to the security booth, she reached above her and unclipped her ID from the visor and showed it to the guard who was waiting patiently by her window. "I know, you want to see how it's coming along and be kept in the loop. I'll speak with Marco and see if it's possible to bring his things to your office or if it's something that needs to be done in his own office. Either way, I promise you, Armin, I will always keep you in the loop. Something this important? I promise I would never keep it from you. Go on now, Eren is probably waiting on you. Try to relax and have fun."

Armin sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he nodded and turned in his seat, grabbing his bag from the back. He paused and glanced at Mikasa before leaning over and giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Mika, it means a lot. I'll treat you guys to a meal or something later."

Mikasa gave a soft smile and reached over to fix Armin's messed up hair. To anyone else, she would have looked as stoic and unemotional as always but Armin noticed the slight upturn at the corner of her lips. "You don't need to do that Armin, you know that. Now go on. I'll see you tomorrow and let you know what Marco says."

Armin nodded once more and gave a last goodbye as he got out of the car and headed into the building. The second the door closed behind him, Armin felt his stomach twist, he hated being the center of attention; at the moment he had the majority of what he thought was Eren's crew, staring at him. Before Armin knew it he was quickly greeted and ushered into the makeup room.

"Hey Ar!" Armin watched as Eren smiled widely at him from his seated position in front of his make up artist. Armin moved away from the door and leaned against the wall as he waved. He frowned when he saw another girl beckoning him over. When he didn't move the girl gave Eren a confused look, Eren motioned for his makeup artist and the other girls to give them a few minutes. Armin felt his stomach twist even more as they emptied out the room. Eren gave him a pleading smile and walked up to him. He reached out and took Armin's hand and dragged him into the seat next to his own.

"Eren?" Armin questioned uncertainly as he glanced around and sighed, he knew he should have said no the day before. He felt himself start to frown and he crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at his best friend.

"So... before you say no..." Eren started and was quickly silenced by Armin's raised hand and glare.

"No. I told you I would come. I never said I'd be on set with you. I've already done this more times than I had promised you before, enough is enough Eren."

"Come on, Armin. You won't even have to do anything, just stand there and look like your dorky gorgeous self... and read extremely big words and just play the role of the forensic pathologist..." Eren smiled as he tucked a loose strand behind Armin's ear.

"No, and I'm really starting to wonder if you know the meaning of the words 'you won't have to do anything'" Armin finger quoted as he glared at his best friend. He was trying his hardest to force the blush away, he knew it ruined his glare but he couldn't help it when Eren complimented him.

"But Armiiiiin, please! You're the only one I can count on!" Eren pleaded drastically. They had tried to find someone who was as well liked as Armin was by the show's fans. However all they had gotten was negative criticism and the fans complaints about bringing back the short blonde scientist.

Armin threw up his arms exasperated, "Eren, no! I can't do that. I'm nothing like you guys and you know I can't stand people staring at me! Why do you think you have to be there with me for every single book signing I have to do?"

Eren sighed and thought for a minute before smiling widely, "You can pretend we're at one of your book signings then! You usually drag me there for support anyways. This way you can offer me support by being up there with me! I'll be right there with you just like at your book signing! Besides isn't that what you always do anyways?" Armin sighed and rubbed his temples before thinking about his friend's predicament. He knew Eren was right and he hated it.

Eren smiled brightly, he had Armin right where he wanted him and he knew it all he needed was once last push. "Come on, Armin… please? I'm always there when you need me… Be there when I need you, please?"

Armin frowned and sent a soft glare in his best friends' direction. "Dude, low blow…Besides I've already done this for you more times than I care to admit."

"Armin…Best buddy… oh dear kind soul… wonderful gorgeous blonde of mine!... Amazing genius brother, please would you help me out today?" Armin felt his frown slide off his face as he nodded and tilted his head in thought.

"I am pretty gorgeous aren't I?" Eren snorted and tossed his arm over the shorter boy's shoulders.

"Yes Armin you're the worlds prettiest flower." Armin elbowed him as they heard the others coming back into the room, no doubt eavesdropping on their conversation so they'd know when to come back into the room.

"You ass, don't make me cut your pay at the bakery." Armin mumbled finally letting the overly energetic makeup artist get to work preparing him for set as Eren chuckled and turned back to face his patient and much calmer stylist.

Armin was exhausted. He wasn't born to be in the spotlight, he appreciated how patient Eren's crew was, but he really hated being the center of attention. So, when the director finally decided that Armin had perfected the scene, he all but cheered as he scurried off the set and into Eren's trailer. The director had sighed and called it a night, he had grown used to Eren and Armin's work dynamic, and if Armin was as frazzled as he always was, he knew it would be useless to try to keep Eren focused. Eren chuckled at his directors frown as he followed closely behind his best friend.

"You know, you'd think you would be used to the attention by now, Ar. I'm actually pretty surprised you're not." Eren stated as he closed the door behind him and grabbed a makeup remover wipe from the counter when he passed by. He stepped beside Armin and gently hip checked him, so they could both fit in front of the mirror.

"I've told you before, I hate being the center of attention. When I am, everyone looks at me like I'm the most important thing in the world and it's weird just having so many eyes on me. It's weird having people treat me differently… If I would have known this is how things would turn out, I would never have written that book, or agreed to help you out the first time." Eren watched as Armin roughly scrubbed off the remaining blush from his cheek. He sighed as he took Armin's wipe and tossed it in the trash with his. He smiled to himself but made no comment on Armin's abnormally glossy lips. He knew his friend loved the way it made his lips look slightly fuller and he never once judged him for the times he would catch Armin looking through womens' lipstick. No, he could never hurt his friend like that, instead he and Mikasa would help him choose a color that matched him. It never failed to embarrass the short blonde, but he knew Armin secretly appreciated it.

"Don't say that, Armin. Don't regret the accomplishments you've made just because you're shy and humble." Armin shrugged and brushed back his hair. Eren turned back to watch his friend through the mirror and noticed the way his friend kept staring at his own lips as if debating whether to remove the lip gloss or not. In the end deciding just to leave it.

"On another note… is it alright if I stay at your place for a while?" Armin questioned as he so desperately wanted to change the subject. He had noticed the look Eren gave and it was the same one that always appeared right before he would go off into a tirade about how important Armin was.

"What? Oh, yeah sure thing. Why though? Not that I mind, you know you're always welcome and maybe Bertl will help you destress." Armin nodded and proceeded to explain the conversation he had with Mikasa, all the while watching as Eren's face quickly morphed into concern.

"Well, that surely is something to be cautious about. No worries, Ar. You can stay as long as you need. Be warned though… I started using the guest room as a storage room until I finish figuring out what I'm keeping and what's going to be donated and I haven't quite finished cleaning it out… so you can either share the couch with Bertl, or you can share my bed with me." Eren smiled sheepishly before stripping out of the set's outfit and quickly changing back into his own clothes. He motioned for the blonde to follow him out as he grabbed his wallet and keys.

"You make it sound like those are horrible choices, we've shared a bed almost our whole life Eren. And I adore Bertl… when he's not slobbering or chewing on my things… or at the bakery… or shedding his fur on me…" Armin scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "Alright so the only time I like Bertl is when I go for walks with him and play fetch… but don't worry it'll be like old times." Armin followed Eren's lead and said his farewells to the rest of the crew as they made their way out to his best friend's car.

"Oh, great… I love you Ar, but just be warned, I will definitely kick you out of the room if you pull the same stunt you did in college. I'll need my sleep so if I even see you pull out that laptop while I'm trying to sleep, you'll be sharing with Bertl. I am so not letting you destroy my beauty sleep. On another note, I'm hungry… what's open this late?" Armin chuckled at his friends threat as he buckled up and browsed for open areas near them.

"Whatever you say Eren. Oh hey the pizza place down the street from your house is still open." He shook his head and smiled as Eren whooped loudly and fistpumped. Maybe a week spent staying at Eren's would be the perfect way to help him relax and get his mind off of things for a bit.

Jean and Levi spent the rest of their day catching up with their old coworkers at the places they each volunteered. For Levi it was the fire station and a quick stop at the police station, for Jean it was fire station and the library. He hadn't been to the fire station in a long time but he knew Levi would catch him up, so instead he decided to spend his day surrounded by books. Besides, he was somehow always far closer to the employees at the library than the one at the fire station. It had been a while since he had last stopped by the library, so after making a few calls, paying a few bills, and dropping off some groceries at his place, he spent the rest of the time with Connie. Throughout the day Jean and Levi messaged each other whenever they got bored or in Levi's case, the crew at the fire station got called away.

They were still messaging each other all the way up until they met up again in front of the bakery. Jean was so focused on his reply to Levi that he almost ran right into said short male. "Oi, pay attention to where you're going, idiot" Levi stopped the taller male just in time. Jean startled and smiled sheepishly as he tucked the phone away. After the two caught each other up on the other employees they stepped into the warmth of the bakery and got in line.

Levi glanced over at his best friend and made a mental note of the slight twitch in Jean's hands. He could tell he was trying his hardest to spot the blonde without being to noticeable. Levi smirked and moved along in the line. He glanced around as well and made a mental note of the missing brunette, blonde, and raven haired employees. He frowned as he let his thoughts run back to the previous day. After a few minutes had passed by he reached out and gently tugged on Jean's shirt. He leaned his body towards the taller male so Jean could take the hint and bend over slightly to speak in private, "They're not here. I remembered Eren telling the blonde they were going to be at the set… do you want to stay or shall we be on our way?"

He watched as the taller male's face morphed into disappointment. He opened his mouth to answer when another voice overshadowed his. "Excuse me! I've got a delivery for a mister Armin Arlert…" Levi and Jean turned to watch the over excited delivery boy lean over the display case to get the attention of one of the employees. The two turned back to face the front of the line, all the while using their well honed skills to look as though they weren't eavesdropping when in fact they were both paying attention to every word.

"I'm sorry, he's not in at the moment… but I could put it in his office." The shorter of the two employees replied hesitantly.

"Sure thing, just sign here please." Bertholdt helped the customers in front of Levi and Jean before glancing over to where Moblit took the clipboard and did as he was told. He then watched as the delivery guy walked back out of the bakery. He sent Moblit a questioning glance as the shorter male shrugged and started cleaning the counter next to the cash registers.

"Hello! Welcome to Luminitsa bakery, what can we get for you two today?" Bertholdt smiled widely as Jean and Levi stepped up to the counter. Being the last two customers in line, Jean glanced at the menu behind the extremely tall male and took his time, while Levi ordered tea like always. The two turned and waited for Jean to decide what he was getting, Levi becoming increasingly impatient at the amount of time it was taking his best friend when he knew the male was only going to choose the same thing he always ordered. Levi huffed in annoyance and spotted both Moblit and Bertholdt sending them amused glances.

"I'll get…" Jean started and was rudely interrupted by the overly energetic delivery boy once more.

"Sorry about that! I needed my coworkers help." Bertholdt and Moblit stare as three extremely huge bouquets were brought in and shoved into each of their hands and the last one on the counter. With a quick wave the delivery boy scurried off leaving the remaining four people in the bakery surprised.

Levi was the first to recover as he leaned over slightly and inhaled the fresh flower scent, "Popular author ain't he?" The question brought the other three out of their stupor and he watched as Moblit and Bertholdt nodded in unison.

"Yeah… he uh is quite popular… though I think this is the first time he's ever gotten flowers." Moblit responded as he copied Levi and brought the flowers up to his face. Jean ignored the flowers in favor of finally telling Bertholdt his order, Bertholdt quickly nodded and shoved the vase in his hands onto Moblit. Jean smiled as he paid for their order and motioned for Levi to move to a spot close enough to still eavesdrop.

"You know he's not going to be happy about this Moblit… why'd you even sign for it?" Bertholdt questioned as soon as he finished the order and turned to start preparing it.

Moblit shrugged as he made space for all of the bouquets to fit on the counter. He turned and watched his friend and coworker continue with the order. "What was I supposed to do? I couldn't just send the guy off… it'd be rude." Bertholdt glanced over and sighed at his friends pout.

"You know you could have just told the guy he had the wrong shop and be done with it." Bertholdt poured the finished tea into a cup and placed it on the side as he started on Jean's drink.

"No way! You know I can't lie to save my life… he would have seen right through it. Anyways, if Armin gets mad, I'll take the blame."

Bertholdt finished Jeans coffee and placed both drinks on top of the display cases as he hip checked Moblit out of the way, so he could reach in and get Jean's pastry. "Jean!" He called as he placed the pastry with the drinks and then turned to stare at his friend. "What do you mean you're going to take the blame if he gets mad? Even if he doesn't get mad, you're still taking the blame. Because it is your fault entirely that he's going to have an office filled with flowers.

Moblit frowned as he glanced over to the items being discussed. "That's a bit of an over exaggeration… there's not that many…"

Bertholdt was interrupted from answering when a throat cleared, he turned and found the shorter of the two customers standing at the display case with an empty cup. "I'm going to assume you guys still have that all you can drink tea offer." At Bertholdt's nod he handed over his cup and watched as the taller employee quickly got to work brewing more tea. "While I've been standing here, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation and I agree with jolly the green giant over there. Those are a fuck ton of flowers. It may be three bouquets but they are still larger than average, making it a lot of flowers."

"See? Thank you…"

"Levi"

"Thank you Levi." Moblit ground out as he sent a glare to the short male, however he didn't expect for Levi to stare him down with a glare of his own. He shifted uncomfortably and redirected his glare to his smug looking friend. Bertholdt shrugged and grinned widely before giving Levi his cup of tea.

"So… on another note, how much do you think his fans paid for them… They are pretty big…" Moblit questioned as he lifted a heavy vase and proceeded to take it into the office in the back.

Bertholdt glanced at the clock decided it was late enough and started packing up the remaining pastries in a box. He quietly packed up two boxes of the remaining pastries and the remaining cup of coffee and tea as he turned to Moblit, who had finished placing the flowers in the office. "Don't know and I don't care. I just wish he'd accept them happily for once. Kid seriously has got to stop thinking he's not important. You'd think after the many books he's written he'd have figured that out by now."

Moblit nodded and took one of the boxes and the two drinks from Bertholdt, "Levi, if you two aren't against it, we'd love it if you two would take the remainder of these pastries home. We always give the remainders to whoever the last customers are." Levi nudged Jean and Moblit watched as the taller of the two sauntered over to the counter to grab the box.

"Oh, don't forget the remainder of the coffee and tea." Moblit smiled widely as Jean thanked them profusely. Moblit then turned back to Bertholdt, "To answer your statement, yeah he should have but you know how he is. He's just way too humble and um… he's not a kid, he's older than you Bertholdt."

Bertholdt chuckled and shrugged as he started piling up the trays that needed to be washed. "Yeah, but I mean… come on… He's so short, he looks like a kid."

Moblit nodded and felt a burning sensation at the back of his skull, he turned around and came face to face with the last two customers. He gave a confused and hesitant smile, "Hey guys… oh? What's this?" Moblit questioned as he reached out and took the card being held out to him. He felt Bertholdt slide behind him most likely to read over his shoulder.

Jean gave a small smile and nudged his best friend who felt there wasn't a need to explain why he was handing over their business card. Levi grudgingly looked up at the taller male and sighed before turning back to the confused duo in front of him, "Your friend, Armin… if he's having trouble have him go to this company. They'll help him out."

Jean felt himself mentally facepalm at his best friends lousy explanation. Bertholdt gently reached over and took the card from Moblit's hands before glancing back up at the two in front of them, "Um… thanks but I don't think he really needs a… um bodyguard?"

Levi sighed and rolled his eyes as he spoke again, "He might not need it now, but it's always good to have a plan in case things escalate. Now then, I'm done explaining, you two have a good evening. Let's go, Horseface." Levi turned and headed for the door quickly with Jean at his heels.

Moblit frowned and glanced back at the card in Bertholdt's hand before shrugging, "Well that was… different."

Bertholdt nodded as he kept an eye on the two leaving the bakery, "No kidding, but he does have a point. It wouldn't hurt to have a back up plan in case things ever go wrong. It definitely wouldn't hurt to give it to him either."

Moblit nodded, grabbing the card back from the taller coworker and thumbtacked it to their message board. "Let's just hope he doesn't overreact…"

Bertholdt snorted and shook his head as he threw a dishrag at the shorter male, "Yeah that'll be the day. Anyways, enough about this, I want to go home so hurry up and finish cleaning."

Moblit frowned and rolled his eyes as he dragged the stack of trays into the back kitchen. He groaned at the mess of dishes as he glanced at the clock. It was going to be a long evening, and he was definitely not looking forward to it.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning found Armin brushing his teeth as he leaned in Eren's bedroom doorway, watching his best friend snore. He rolled his eyes at the way his best friend had sprawled over the entire bed. He glanced down at his watch and quickly returned to the bathroom to finish getting ready. A few minutes later Armin was barging back into Eren's room with Bertl hot on his heels. He took a running start and launched himself onto his best friend. Bertl jumped onto the bed and licked his owners cheek before plopping his head onto Eren's chest with a satisfied woof.

Eren groaned and wiped his cheek before glaring up at his smiling best friend through slitted eyes. "Why for the love of God, are you sitting on top of me."

"It's time to get up. We're already late." Armin grinned widely as he made himself comfortable on top of Eren.

"Hell no, you were up almost all damn night typing away. I need my sleep and there is no way, I am getting up at…" Eren glanced over to his alarm clock on the nightstand and groaned as he flopped back onto the bed. "3:45 Armin?! You woke me up at 3:45 in the fucking morning? Are you fucking kidding me? How the hell are you even awake?"

Armin grinned widely as he watched his best friend try to get into a comfortable position underneath him. "Practice, I've been doing this for years Eren. We need to stop at my place before opening the bakery and…" Armin felt his face flush brightly.

Eren groaned and cursed before quickly reaching out and taking ahold of his best friend's collar and dragging him down onto the bed beside him. Bertl let out a soft grumble as he hopped off the bed to avoid being crushed by the blonde. He let out a bark before scurrying back out of the room. "Shut up… not a word, it's your fault."

Armin chuckled and poked Eren's cheek, "Why Eren… I didn't think you saw me in that way…" He felt his cheeks flush brighter.

Eren smacked his hand away and turned on his side to face Armin. "Leave me alone, I'm tired, and speaking of being tired, you need to start sleeping more; Bertholdt and Moblit closed the bakery last night. They can open it. Mikasa also has a key she can get things started just message her. I need sleep, two and a half hours is not enough. Judging by the bags under your eyes it's not enough for you either."

Armin opened his mouth to deny that Eren was right when he broke out into a yawn instead. He frowned as he wiped his eyes and met Eren's smug smirk. Before he could say anything else Eren turned over and reached out for his phone. Armin watched as Eren typed out a message and sent it before laying back down and pulling the blonde closer. He dragged the blanket over his best friend and yawned. "Go back to sleep, Mika will handle the bakery until we get there."

Armin nodded and yawned again as he snuggled closer into his best friend's sleepy warmth. Eren chuckled sleepily as he pulled the blonde as close as possible and let himself slip off into a deep sleep.

Eren rolled his eyes as he glanced over to where the blonde was sitting with his arms crossed and a pout splayed over his face. It was nearing 1 in the afternoon and Armin was not in the least bit happy about having slept so long. He even ignored Eren the whole time they had stopped over at the blonde's apartment to get a weeks worth of supplies. Eren sighed and reached out to nudge his best friend. "Hey, I really am sorry Ar… We both needed the sleep and I honestly thought I had set an alarm…"

Armin turned to glare at his friend, he made the mistake of looking into Eren's wide green eyes. He sighed as he felt his anger dissipate. "Yeah, I know… sorry, I just have a lot of things on my mind and this was just the icing on the cake…"

Eren gave a small smile as he pulled into the parking lot in front of the bakery. By the time they made their way into the somewhat busy bakery, the two had gone back to teasing each other. It was very rare if one of the two stayed upset at the other, they usually patched things up within a few hours, at worst a few days.

Armin and Eren passed by with quick greetings to Moblit and Bertholdt as they headed into the office. Eren paused at the mess of flowers, papers, wires, and computer screens he walked into before stepping aside so Armin could have a look.

"Well now… this is a sight… hey guys." Armin greeted as he carefully made his way to his closet to hang up his coat, making sure not to step or trip on any computer wires. Eren followed the blonde through the mess as Mikasa glanced at the two before returning her attention to the screens in front of her.

Marco's head shot up from behind his own set of screens as he gave a bright smile and quick wave, "Hey guys… sorry about the mess… it's the fastest way I could think of to browse through everything…" He waited until Armin acknowledged his excuse before returning back to work. Eren shook his head at the sound of keys being pressed at almost a mile a minute. Marco was known to be quick in scrounging up whatever needed to be found. Eren would constantly tease their hacker over his ability to completely tune everything out within seconds, just so he could continue pressing a million and one keys.

Armin glanced around at the assortment of flowers and quirked an eyebrow, "What's with the flowers? I mean thanks, Mika...but just seeing you two working on figuring this out is enough to cheer me up…"

Mikasa looked up at her two childhood friends, standing side by side in matching aprons, "Those aren't from me, Armin… they were already here when we arrived." Something in Mikasa's voice was enough to gain Marco's attention as he looked at the humongous vases.

Armin felt a shudder go through him, he wasn't certain why, but he wanted nothing to do with the flowers. They creeped him out and he couldn't place a finger on why, he just wasn't comfortable. He took a deep breath and felt everyone's eyes on him as he moved to the closest bouquet of flowers, which also seemed the be the biggest and most extravagant ones he had ever seen. Under other circumstances he probably would've felt flattered, at the moment all he felt was the need to throw them away. The closer he got to the bouquet the easier it was to spot the small white note card, with a hesitant hand he reached out and gently retrieved it, so as not to harm any of the flowers.

 _I hope you're enjoying your gifts, you never take the time to answer my letters… thought you'd enjoy this far more than words -from your secret admirer._

Armin felt a chill creep down his spine as he read and reread the small note card. He stood there for a few minutes before taking a deep breath to wash away the chill, he looked around at the others before picking up the largest bouquet with ease and walking out of his office. He spotted his two employees sitting at the island and figured the only reason the two of them would be sitting there, would be because rush hour was over and they were taking their break. He frowned at the thought of both of them taking a break at once, but that was a problem for later, right now he had a slightly more pressing matter to attend to.

He was aware Eren had followed him out and he was pretty sure Mikasa and Marco were listening from their spots in front of the computer screens. He walked up to the two boys and not so gently placed the flowers between them, the action quickly demanding silence and attention. Both men turned to their serious boss as he placed his hands on his hips and looked from Moblit to Bertholdt and back.

"Who signed for it?"

"Uh… well you see…" Bertholdt shivered and felt himself straighten under the icy glare his boss shot him as he tried to explain.

Moblit glanced at his friend and couldn't stop the overwhelming feeling of pity as he cleared his throat; he gulped loudly when the icy gaze landed on him. "I did… I didn't think you'd mind and well… I didn't want to seem rude."

Bertholdt and Moblit watched as their bosses nose scrunched slightly as he thought. Eren watched his best friend as he walked out of the fridge with a cake and set it on the island. He gathered the remaining things he needed as he listened to the conversation. "Throw them away. I don't want them. It's bad enough I get letters here, I don't want gifts as well. Stop signing for things, understood? I don't want to see this again." Armin finally answered in a clipped tone as he stared down the two fidgeting employees.

Eren sighed and glanced at the other two in the room before shaking his head, "Hey isn't it time for the two of you to get back to the front. I think I heard some customers come in." Moblit and Bertholdt stood quickly and mumbled their thanks as they scurried off through the double doors. Armin turned his glare on his best friend who merely shrugged and started piping roses onto the cake. "I don't see the problem, Ar. So someone loves your books, and he or she sent you flowers. I think that's actually pretty sweet of them."

Armin quickly tied his hair back into a ponytail as he made his way to wash the dishes piling up in the sink. "The problem, Eren… is that I shouldn't be getting anything. Not once did I ever give this bakery's address and my books aren't even that popular. Don't you think it's odd that I'm getting gifts when the only people who know about this bakery are our customers?" He sighed as he put down the last dish to dry and turned to lean against the counter. He watched as Eren finished piping roses. He could vaguely hear the tip tap of keys being pressed, assuming Mikasa and Marco went back to work.

"It's not odd Armin. You mentioned the bakery by name the first time you ever had a book signing. It doesn't really take a genius to figure out how to use google." Eren shot his friend a small smile as he reached over and placed the cake in a box, attaching the recipients receipt to it.

Armin took a deep breath and thought about that for a bit before shrugging, "Yeah, you're right. Maybe I am overthinking things. I just don't like receiving gifts from strangers…" Eren nodded in understanding as he patted his friend on the shoulder, while making his way to the fridge with the finished cake.

Armin watched his friend working and decided he should start doing something productive as well. He went out into the front to check the message board to see if there were any other specialty cakes that have been ordered. As he glanced around the message board he noticed a small gray and gold card hanging in the bottom corner of the board. Frowning in confusion as he reached up for it, he turned to Moblit, who was busy filling a cup with coffee.

"What's this?"

Moblit froze slightly wary about his bosses temper. He quickly handed off the coffee to the waiting customer. He glanced over to where Bertholdt's eyes met his and sighed, "One of your customers overheard me and Bertholdt talking about the gifts and stuff… mostly about how you didn't like it… anyways, he gave that to us and said there might come a time when you need a bodyguard so… I put it there…" Moblit grimaced at the way his voice slowly died out at the end, no matter how much shorter the blonde was than himself, he somehow still managed to frighten everyone with his temper.

"Bodyguard? No. I refuse, I'm not some well-known actor or writer you guys." Armin directed towards his two employees, Bertholdt had slowly made his way over to listen. "I don't need something like this. Bodyguards are for important or rich people and even politicians. I am none of those, I don't need it. Next time just throw things like this away, Moblit."

Moblit frowned, he hated when Armin said things like that. "But Armin, you are as important as them and it does no harm in just keeping it in case you need it…"

"No. Now I'm done talking about this, we have work to do." Armin stated as he turned back to the message board.

Moblit bit his lip as he cast a look in Bertholdt's direction. He knew he was asking for it when even Bertholdt shook his head and mouthed for him to drop it. The smart portion of his brain knew the taller male was right and he should just let it go, but the stubborn part of it was annoyed with how often his blonde friend thought so little of himself. He took a deep breath and tried again, "Armin… I know you don't believe me, but I have read your stories, and they were amazing… You have such a wonderful talent, have you ever seen what everyone is saying about your books? Hell, Armin, you're about as well known as that chick who wrote Harry Potter. If you're that well known then it means you are as importa-"

"MOBLIT!" Armin slammed the clipboard down onto the counter and silenced his employee. He noticed Mikasa and Eren glancing through the double doors at his shout. Bertholdt noticed them as well and quickly shook his head and waved them away when they spotted him. Armin pinched the bridge of his nose as he inhaled slowly to calm himself before turning to his employee. "Enough already, please. I appreciate that you've read my books, however I've had enough of this nonsense. Now if you're done, go and finish preparing the rest of the birthday cakes that need to be delivered tomorrow. Got it?"

Armin felt his anger bubbling and tried to keep it in check. Moblit was a great employee and an even greater friend, he absolutely hated when he had to argue with the male. He watched as Moblit opened his mouth argue back, he knew that stubborn look anywhere. He quickly raised his hand to prevent his employee from responding, he had a feeling the next words to come out of Moblit's mouth would send him over the edge. He clenched his teeth and spoke, "No. Enough Moblit, seriously get to work. I don't want to hear about this anymore. Do I make myself clear?"

He watched as the employee in front of him opened his mouth once more before closing it and slumping in defeat, "Yes sir…" Armin bit his lip feeling like a total ass at how he treated his friend and employee before briskly turning away and heading back into the kitchen. It was definitely going to be another long and excruciating day.

Jean was having a rather horrible day, he and Levi had spent the night binge watching Eren's tv shows. He had fallen asleep earlier than Levi, and even though the short male had spent the night, it wasn't enough to keep the nightmares from plaguing his dreams. He woke up multiple times to a somewhat awake Levi, shushing him and running fingers through his hair. No one said being a bodyguard was an easy job, certain things stuck with them. Like the 15 year old girl they failed to save whose body was found skinned alive; or the 64 year old father who decided he'd had enough and couldn't take how paranoid he was and slit his throat in front of his kids; or even the family of 4 with an infant all of whom they were too late to pull out of a fire. That last one always stuck with him the most. It was the last straw for him and the reason he had quit volunteering at the fire station.

He never liked speaking about what woke him up and Levi never pressured him to. It was an unspeakable understanding the two had, while Levi had nightmares as well, they never reached the point that Jean's did. They were never as often as his either, needless to say Jean was extremely envious of that. However, the envy would always melt away the second he turned and found his best friend by his side comforting him the only way he knew how. Jean felt a small smile form on his face at the thought of his gentle and kind friend as he put the last book on his cart away. He yawned and stretched as he made his way back to the front counter, he'd known Levi almost his whole life and never once understood why he acted so cold and heartless to others. He shrugged off the thought as he came to a stop beside the counter and frowned at the enormous stack of books waiting to be checked back into the system.

"Y'know, usually the person who volunteers is just supposed to help around… not do all the work…" Jean glanced over at Connie who merely shrugged and flipped the page in his manga.

"Don't care, you wanted to volunteer, I let you. You're helping me do the duties I don't want to, so technically you're still helping around. Don't make me ban you from volunteering here Kirstein." Jean let out a snort as he shook his head before smacking Connie's with a book.

"Don't even try, your dad would never allow you to ban people from helping. Besides you guys have known me since middle school, I'm pretty sure your dad loves me more than you." He smirked as he started scanning the books back into the system.

Connie deadpanned as he flipped Jean the bird and turned his attention back to his manga, his back facing the counter and any customers coming up to the counter. "Yeah yeah, whatever, you keep believing what you want. Anyway, how is the temperamental midget doing? I know you two keep in touch, you always used to follow him around like a little lap dog." Jean huffed out a soft chuckle as he glanced up from the last book needing to be scanned.

"That temperamental midget, of which you speak, is about a second away from shoving his foot so far up your ass for ever calling him a midget." Connie froze for a split second before letting his head fall back, sporting a wide grin aimed at the frowning raven-haired male.

"Levi! What are you doing here? How've you been?" Levi rolled his eyes at Connie's attempt at light chatter to keep from getting injured. It wouldn't be the first time Levi had done something to Connie just because he was called a midget.

He quirked an eyebrow and stepped aside as the next few customers placed their books in the return bin right next to him. "I'm here to pick up Jean. We have plans."

Jean grinned widely as he shrugged on his coat and met Levi on the other side of the desk. "See you Connie. I'll leave these here for you, maybe now you'll do some work, lazy ass." Jean chuckled as Connie groaned pathetically while waving them off and putting away his manga, before finally getting to work. Jean shook his head as he followed the shorter man out of the building, his mood lightly perked up knowing exactly where they were headed.

Jean couldn't stop the overpowering yawn even if he wanted to, Levi quirked an eyebrow as the taller male bumped into him slightly. He watched as his best friend rubbed his eyes and couldn't stop the way the corner of his mouth tilted upward. Sleepy Jean reminded Levi of when they were younger and still at the orphanage. The way the taller male was far shorter back then and always carried around that little stuffed rabbit which Jean had named Flopsey. Levi felt his chest warm slightly at the picture of a young Jean popping into his memory. Hair sticking up every which way, one arm rubbing his eyes while the other clutched tightly onto the arm of a white stuffed rabbit, and the forceful yawn that always made young Jean lose his balance. Levi shook his head as if to clear the memory when Jean yawned widely again and bumped into him slightly.

"You need sleep, once we get to your place it's straight to bed. Got it?" Levi questioned in a tone that held no room for disagreement. Jean wiped his eyes again before shoving his hand into his pockets and grumbling.

"What did you say?" Jean fidgeted and looked away from Levi's stern glare as he answered.

"I said fine, dad." Jean felt his cheeks warm at the childish tone his voice had taken.

Levi on the other hand huffed in amusement as they rounded the corner and walked up to the bakery, he pulled open the door as he responded. "With as often as I have to look out for you, it's a fitting title."

They both got in line behind two high school girls and Levi watched as Jean grimaced. "Dude, no. Gross. You as a father figure? Don't make me puke before I'm going to eat something."

Levi frowned and elbowed the taller male as they moved up in the line. "You may have grown taller than me now and we may be in a public place but don't think I won't knock you on your ass if you insult me again." Jean cringed and nodded once in apology as he scooted away from Levi, worried the shorter male might actually follow through with his threat. Levi smirked as the two spent the rest of the time waiting in line in silence.

Levi knows Jean is taking in the sight of everything in the bakery, just as he is. Even if they have no reason to be worried they still can't stop themselves from always being on guard and keeping their eyes roaming discreetly to take in every detail. He took note of the employee from the previous day, Moblit he recalls, making a new pot of coffee. He spotted the raven haired female at the counter again and vaguely recalled seeing her the first time they were at the bakery, right before Jean dragged them out.

Levi watched as the door that lead to the kitchen is pushed open and an energetic brown haired male makes his way to the display case. He could recognize Eren anywhere, he continued to watch as Eren bent over and presumably wrote down the pastries they were running low on. Levi was so focused on the other male that he startled slightly as he felt a sharp jab his his ribs. He looked up at Jean and sent him a glare.

Jean rolled his eyes and nodded in the direction of the counter, where a very pissed off looking girl stood, staring him down with a glare that would have frozen anyone else had they not been Levi. He merely strolled up to the counter and stared right back at her with his own challenging glare. He mentally smirked when he saw the way her jaw clenched.

"What can I get for you?" Mikasa asked as politely as she could through clenched teeth.

"Coffee, black." Levi ordered as he noticeably brushed her off in favor of glancing back at where Eren was bent over.

"And for you sir?" Jean sighed as he could both feel and hear the anger coming from the girl in front of them. He subtly kicked at the shorter male and sent him a glare of his own before turning to the display case and ordering.

"Um… I'll take a coffee… and the individual cheesecake, oh and can you throw in…" Jean is cut off mid order at the surprisingly loud voice coming from behind the display case.

"Hey Ar! We need more crumb cakes!" Eren yelled as he crouched down to peer into the lower trays, reaching in to take out the empty ones.

Mikasa turned towards where the brunette was crouched down to chastise him, "Eren for goodness sake! You have a notepad, write it down and stop shouting like a lunatic!" She finished in a hiss as Armin walked out from the kitchen over to the brunette, Moblit joining at his side to peer over his shoulder.

"What do you mean we need more crumb cakes? I literally gave you guys a fresh tray of them about five minutes ago." Armin questioned as he leaned over and peered into the display case for himself, feeling a frown forming. He reached over and took the notepad from his best friend as they both stood up and examined the list Eren had made.

Levi and Jean stood at the counter eyeing the writer and actor, completely oblivious to the harsh glare being directed at them or the way Mikasa cleared her throat. Moblit glanced over upon hearing Mikasa and spotted the two customers, somewhat thankful they were the only two in line. He noticed they somehow always managed to be the only customers in the bakery as he gently nudged his boss.

"What?" Armin questioned as he tore his glance away from the notepad and up to Moblit.

Moblit turned to meet his eyes and mumbled softly, "Those are the two who left you that bodyguard card." Armin quirked an eyebrow as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear and turned to the two watching the small group. He looked over to his best friend who merely shrugged and took back the notepad as Armin made his way to the counter. As he got closer he noticed the taller one start to blush and look away, no doubt embarrassed at having been caught staring.

Usually when people stared at Armin he hated it, but he found himself surprised at not minding it in the least when the taller male's eyes were on him. Armin reached over and patted Mikasa's arm gently and gave a small smile when she took the hint and hesitantly relinquished her spot in front of the two customers. Armin turned to the two who had both now turned their attention to him.

"Good, evening. I'm Armin Arlert, owner of this bakery. It has come to my attention, you two gentlemen have left behind your business card. While I do appreciate your kindness in trying to help, I must decline. You see, I don't need a bodyguard, nor do I want one. For future references, please choose a more willing person to leave your card with. I am sorry you have wasted your time." Armin finished in the most polite business voice he had ever had to pull. He reached into his apron pocket for the card and kindly slid it across the counter. He glanced up at the two men again and was instantly surprised at the way they both looked.

Where there had been starstruck gazes, now stood professionalism. Both men stood up straight and it was clear to anyone who was watching, that these men meant business and they were not the type of people to mess around with when they were working. Armin couldn't help feeling as though he somehow offended the men in front of him by giving back the card. He hesitated slightly with his hand still touching the card before slowly pulling away.

Jean glanced down at Levi and kept his expression unreadable, he was surprised that it was his best friend who chose to address the situation that they found themselves in rather than himself. "I know you believe it may be a waste, however we do not. We like to believe it's always best to have a back-up plan. Keep the card, even if you never use it, it's best to have it in case it's needed."

Armin bit his lip and glanced between the two customers before reaching out slowly and taking the card back. The tone which the shorter male had used, offered no chance for rebuke and Armin had admitted defeat by placing the card back in his pocket. Eren and Mikasa glanced over at the exchange between the three men from where they stood. "I appreciate the gesture… I'll keep it in case it's needed, even if I believe I will never use it. Now then, with that out of the way… Is there anything else we can get for you?" Armin sighed and felt himself relax as his business persona melted into a kind worker.

Jean and Levi noticed the change in Armin's tone and let themselves relax. Eren shrugged and continued writing down things they needed. Mikasa watched as Armin continued the order before walking over to the end of the display case and frowned as she pulled out a tray. "Eren."

Eren glanced up and smiled widely as he scratched the back of his head, "That's where I put them! Never mind, Armin! We don't need any more crumb cakes. I misplaced them."

Armin flinched and turned to glare at his best friend, "Inside voices Eren. Stop shouting already, I'm right here, not across the parking lot!" He scolded as the brunette merely shrugged and placed the tray where it belonged. Armin turned back to the duo with an apology on his tongue to find the shorter one staring at Eren. He quirked an eyebrow and glanced up at the other male who merely shrugged and glanced back at the display case.

"We'll take a crumb cake as well… and that'll be all." Jean finished and turned back to stare at the blonde. Watching as his cheeks turned a soft pink.

Armin felt eyes on him again as he rang up the two customers. "Wonderful, that'll be $19.57." He smiles up politely as Jean hands over his credit card. Armin took a quick peek at the name as he charged the card. "Thank you, Jean. Please, come again, the both of you." Armin stepped aside and made his way towards Eren, as Mikasa placed the items on the counter.

Jean felt his cheeks flush brightly at the girls next words. "Yes, please come again, and please try not to stare at our workers. It's rather uncomfortable." Armin and Eren glanced over to the counter at Mikasa's rude tone to find both men sufficiently embarrassed. Jean glanced their way one last time as he grabbed his things and dragged the annoyed looking male out of the bakery.

Armin felt himself blush at how cute he thought the taller looked with a reddened face, as he scurried out of the bakery. He turned to his best friend who seemed to be having the same thoughts about the shorter male, if his warm cheeks were anything to go by. They met each others eyes and both froze when they felt a cold stare. Looking over to where Mikasa was glaring at them both Eren and Armin chuckled nervously before scurrying off to the kitchen.


End file.
